ISTANBUL - Turkey will retaliate if any of its citizens and diplomats held by militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are harmed, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.

"Right now we are engaged in calm crisis management, considering our citizens' security. This should not be misunderstood. Any harm to our citizens and staff would be met with the harshest retaliation," Davutoglu told reporters in New York in comments broadcast on Turkish television.